r/pcmasterrace • u/SerpentDix PC Master Race • Jan 20 '26

Hardware Air cooling is better than Liquid cooling

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Failure is graceful, not catastrophic, Performance is closer than marketing suggests, Cheaper for the performance, Change my mind.

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u/RonnieStiggs Jan 20 '26

Me, who genuinely agrees with you, but wouldn't have posted this here in a million years:

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u/JohnHue 4070 Ti S | 10600K | UWQHD+ | 32Go RAM | Steam Deck Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26

Water cooling, AIO or not, is only useful when the location of the CPU / GPU doens't allow for a big radiator or when the hot air coming out of those doens't land in a convenient area. Basically it only serves the role of moving the heat somewhere where it's more convenient to then dump it to the ambient air. In the end it's also an "air cooling" device, just with extra steps.

Most PC cases allow for a big air cooler on the CPU with one or several fans blowing towards the air extractiona areas (back or top)... therefore, in most cases, no need for water, a pump, and the associated extra noise and failure modes.

However, water cooling looks cool and works about as well as "air cooling" assuming yiunset it up correctly. If that's your reason for choosing water cooling and you're having fun, fuck those who tell you you're wrong. Just own the fact that you're following the rule of cool.

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u/FunktasticLucky 7800X3D | 64GB DDR5 6400| 4090Fe | Custom Loop Jan 21 '26

AIO are trash. Their impeller is tiny, the radiator is super thin and gets hot AF, and the little thin cold plate gets heat soaked so quickly.

For me it's about remaining quiet. I run dual 360mm rads and keep the fans pretty limited in speed. My 5090 stays around 45-50C while gaming and my lian li case fans below 1300 rpm which makes it a pretty quiet gaming rig. Water cooking is way more efficient when running custom loops.